UK motorists would feel safer in a flying car than getting behind the wheel of a self-driving vehicle, a new study has found.

A poll of 1,591 UK drivers revealed more than half (56 per cent) have such little faith in the groundbreaking technology they would prefer to risk their lives operating an aircraft.

The research, published this week by consumer finance company Varooma, found motorists aged up to 24 were the most eager to take to the skies, with a whopping 60% saying they favoured flying over being driven by their cars.

Pensioners were also more interested in owning a flying car than autonomous vehicles, with 52% preferring to clock up the air miles than be chauffeured by a machine.

(Image: Getty)

Almost three-quarters (73%) of those questioned said they would not give up driving for driverless cars, while 38% admitted it was "extremely unlikely" they would buy one if they could afford it.

Surprisingly, more people would trust the cars to ferry their children to school (7.5%) than to transport money (5%).

Patrick Martin, senior marketing executive of Varooma, said the results were a wake-up call to the motor industry.

The intervention was needed to avoid a collision just 13 of those times. In 69 cases the driver took control to prevent dangerous driving, and in 272 a human had to take over because of "software failures".

(Image: Google)

Despite the dangers, however, younger drivers were also the most willing to relinquish control of the cars, with 17% saying they would trust a computer to navigate, compared to just 9% of those aged 55-64.

Nearly a quarter (23%) of motorists aged 18-24 also admitted they would play augmented reality game Pokemon Go if they didn't need to focus on driving, while 28% of women in all age groups said they would watch a film during a driverless journey.